ISRAEL – The Israeli Security Cabinet secretly approved the establishment of 34 new illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank as the world was focused on Iran war, according to local reports.

While not specifying the actual date of the decision, Channel 24 said it was taken during the US-Israeli military campaign against Iran that began Feb. 28.

“The Security Cabinet secretly approved the construction of 34 new settlements in the West Bank, a record number passed in a single move during the campaign against Iran,” the channel said.

The approved sites include locations within Palestinian neighborhoods in the northern West Bank and remote areas rarely reached by Israeli forces, the broadcaster said.

“This is the largest number of settlements ever approved in a single cabinet session,” the channel added.

According to the report, the total number of illegal settlements approved by the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu since it came to power in late 2022 rose to 103.

According to the channel, Israel’s Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir attended the meeting and did not explicitly object the decision. He, however, raised concerns about limited manpower and requested an assessment of implementing the decision across multiple areas simultaneously.

The cabinet also chose to keep the decision secret to avoid US pressure during the ongoing war against Iran, as President Donald Trump has publicly opposed Israeli annexation of the West Bank, the channel said.

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli government on the report.

Illegal settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, has accelerated since Netanyahu’s government took office in late 2022.

The international community and the United Nations consider the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, occupied Palestinian territory, and regard Israeli settlement activity there as “illegal” under international law.

About 750,000 Israeli occupiers live in 141 illegal settlements and 224 outposts across the West Bank, including 250,000 in 15 illegal settlements in East Jerusalem.

In recent years, Israeli forces and occupiers have intensified operations across the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, involving arrests, killings, property destruction and the displacement of Palestinians, alongside continued illegal settlement expansion.

Palestinian officials warn that such actions could pave the way for Israel to formally annex the West Bank, effectively ending prospects for a Palestinian state as envisioned in UN resolutions.

In a landmark opinion in July 2024, the International Court of Justice declared Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory illegal and called for the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.